Jane and the Dragon: Dragonphobia is a U-certified animated DVD about Jane, a medieval girl who was raised to be a Lady-in-Waiting. However, as we learn from the catchy theme song, she would “rather battle fire-breathing dragons” and knew she “could prove that a girl could be a knight”.
So she trained in secret and rescued the young prince who had been captured by Dragon, befriending Dragon in the process. The king then made her a knight-apprentice. All of this makes a refreshing change from many of the princess-type stories I come across with my six-year-old daughter, Abigail, the plots of which revolve around meeting and marrying a prince.
Abigail enjoyed watching the episodes (five, of around 20 minutes each) that make up this DVD. She liked Jane who, in Abigail’s words, “keeps on trying” and is “kind, even if she can be a bit snappy sometimes”. She also liked Dragon because he is “cheeky and keeps doing things he’s not meant to do”.
I too found these and the other characters well-drawn and believable, and the dialogue realistic to the point of making me laugh when, for example, the young princess argues with her brother.
The animation is of very good quality, and the plot's straightforward but interesting enough. However, I agree with Abigail that the accents are “a bit strange”. The stories are set in England but the DVD was made in Canada and some accents are more authentic than others - the cockney Dragon sounds Australian at times.
Overall I found Jane and the Dragon: Dragonphobia well-made and entertaining, and Abigail said she thought the other girls (and boys) in her class would find it fun to watch.
I would recommend it for primary school-aged children, and guess that their parents might enjoy it too.
Jane and the Dragon: Dragonphobia is available from Amazon. To order a copy click the link below:
